ST. LOUIS 鈥 The number of threats of violence against area schools has risen to the dozens as school safety concerns spike nationwide, local and federal law enforcement officials said Friday.聽
Between July 1 and Tuesday, 102 school shooting threats were reported to the state Highway Patrol's . It took all of last year to get to that number, according to data provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office. There were also 14 "planned school attacks" warranting law enforcement action within the same period, compared to 10 all of last year.
"In addition to the drain on resources, these threats are often traumatizing the students, families and school staff, and they have to stop now," said Florissant Police Chief Timothy Fagan. Fagan is also the chairman of the聽50度灰视频 Area Police Chiefs Association.
People are also reading…
Fagan and 15 of the area's top law enforcement held a rare news conference Friday to address the growing number of threats. They warned that people who think it's funny to post them against schools or other people would face arrest.
"Hoax threats are not a joke," Special Agent in Charge Ashley Johnson of the FBI 50度灰视频 Division said. "Don't think you can hide. We will find you and you will be held accountable."
Over the past week, 50度灰视频-area schools have locked down, switched to virtual learning, or temporarily closed as a result of threats of violence. Nearly all threats were posted to social media by minors. Only one was deemed credible.
The surge in threats follows a Sept. 4 shooting at a Winder, Georgia high school, where a 14-year-old student killed four people.
Johnson said there's often a spike in threats after school shootings. The same happened in 50度灰视频 after a 19-year-old gunman fatally shot a Central Visual and Performing Arts student and teacher in October 2022, he said.
Checking on such threats drains law enforcement resources, disrupts schools and frightens students, police said.
"They're threats, but they don't have the means to carry them out," St. Ann Police Chief Aaron Jimenez said in an interview. "They think this is funny."
In 50度灰视频 County, six juveniles have been referred to the juvenile court systems for making terrorist threats this month, with four referrals coming from the Florissant Police Department alone, according to Fagan. However, the number of juveniles charged or referred is unclear, as juvenile court records in Missouri are generally confidential.
Jimenez, St. Ann's police chief, said three juveniles have been charged for making shooting threats on social media to Ritenour High School.
The first, a 15-year-old, was charged with peace disturbance after a threat made on Sept. 6. On Sept. 11, a 16-year-old was charged with making a terrorist threat in the second degree.
Another teen, a 16-year-old, may be charged as an adult after police thwarted his shooting threat outside of Ritenour's Husky Academy on Tuesday. Police said they found him in Husky's parking lot with a loaded Glock and caught him a block away after a foot chase. The former student's parents have also been charged. Each faces one count of tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution.
Jimenez said the latter teen may be charged as an adult, but the U.S. Attorney's Office is still reviewing the case. Investigators are also still trying to determine where the teen got his gun.
Law enforcement officials asked parents not to re-post the threats they may see online and instead inform authorities.
"We want parents and caregivers to talk to their kids," Fagan said. "We want them to explain the seriousness of the school threat and the seriousness of the consequences that result from that."
Overall, at least 30 50度灰视频-area schools have received threats. A non-exhaustive list includes:聽聽
- On Sept. 12, five schools in Centralia, Illinois closed after two 11-year-old students were charged with felony disorderly conduct for allegedly posting threats on social media,聽according to Centralia police.
- KIPP charter school said Friday all students and staff were safe after a social media threat against the school was posted online.聽
- Normandy Schools Collaborative said its high school was included in a social media post containing threats involving a weapon and a list of schools in the area.
- On Friday, an "implied" threat on social media against Barnwell Middle in the Francis Howell School District was determined not to be credible after the student responsible was quickly identified, according to a message to parents.
- On Tuesday, University City High School was the subject of a bomb threat posted on Instagram, the district said. The threat was discovered after school dismissal and additional security and law enforcement have been on site since then.聽
- Another bomb threat on Tuesday prompted the closure of Ladue Horton Watkins High.
- On Wednesday morning, a social media post threatened unspecified violence at East 50度灰视频 Senior High. The school went on lockdown.
- The same morning,聽50度灰视频 Metropolitan Police said they were investigating a threat made to Lift for Life Academy, causing the charter to switch to e-learning.聽
- Premier Charter School said Wednesday its middle school principals handled a "situation" that caused the school to call on law enforcement "out of an abundance of caution and given the current landscape of the need to prioritize safety in school."
- On Thursday, in a letter to families and staff, the Cahokia Unit School District in Cahokia, Illinois said an individual had been apprehended for making social media threats against the district.
- Thursday morning, Barretts Elementary in the Parkway School District went on lockdown after police received a 911 call that referenced a bomb and the school. Police later canvassed the building and gave an all-clear.
- Also on Thursday, Acting 50度灰视频 Public Schools Superintendent Millicent Borishade said police investigated threats toward McKinley, Compton-Drew, Shenandoah, Mullanphy, Yeatman, Academy of Entrepreneurship Studies Middle, and Mason schools, and determined they were unsubstantiated. Threats involving Lyon at Blow, Roosevelt, Long, Gateway STEM, and Central Visual and Performing Arts High schools had also emerged, Borishade said.
- And on Friday, according to Jimenez, a Ritenour elementary school also received a threat. An investigation is ongoing.